May 16, 2007

Ursula Burns

According to the Buffalo News, there's going to be a new CEO of Xerox Corporation soon.

Chief
Executive Officer Anne Mulcahy, 54, in April named Ursula Burns, 48,
president with the expectation that she would move up when Mulcahy
steps down, analysts say.

Burns, who grew up in a housing project in Manhattan, also became the only inside director besides the CEO.

Burns
“is to business what Condi Rice is to government, in terms of someone
who never grew up expecting to be a president of a major corporation,”
said John Engler, a former Republican governor of Michigan and
president of the National Association of Manufacturers, where Burns is
a director. “It’s hard, regardless of color and gender, to reach the
high level of responsibility she’s reached.”

--

This is not unexpected from Xerox. I learned a lot about management philosophy at Xerox which was my first corporate gig out of school. I had three internships there, in one I built the Affirmative Action and Manpower Planning reporting system. Xerox has always been serious about succession planning and management by objective, rather than by personality. So the culture of advanced meritocracy have always been present. Additionally, the company has had a strong black executive and management presence for decades. Starting with Bernard Kinsey in the 80s.

I have my own little stories about black managers at Xerox and today they are still being written. Congrats to Burns.

Comments

According to the Buffalo News, there's going to be a new CEO of Xerox Corporation soon.

Chief
Executive Officer Anne Mulcahy, 54, in April named Ursula Burns, 48,
president with the expectation that she would move up when Mulcahy
steps down, analysts say.

Burns, who grew up in a housing project in Manhattan, also became the only inside director besides the CEO.

Burns
“is to business what Condi Rice is to government, in terms of someone
who never grew up expecting to be a president of a major corporation,”
said John Engler, a former Republican governor of Michigan and
president of the National Association of Manufacturers, where Burns is
a director. “It’s hard, regardless of color and gender, to reach the
high level of responsibility she’s reached.”

--

This is not unexpected from Xerox. I learned a lot about management philosophy at Xerox which was my first corporate gig out of school. I had three internships there, in one I built the Affirmative Action and Manpower Planning reporting system. Xerox has always been serious about succession planning and management by objective, rather than by personality. So the culture of advanced meritocracy have always been present. Additionally, the company has had a strong black executive and management presence for decades. Starting with Bernard Kinsey in the 80s.

I have my own little stories about black managers at Xerox and today they are still being written. Congrats to Burns.